Muzzle brakes or recoil compensators (“compensators”) are devices connected to the muzzle of a firearm that redirect propellant gases to counter recoil and muzzle rise during operation. Compensators have been used in various forms on rifles, pistols and revolvers. Generally, compensators use a variety of slots, vents, holes, baffles to redirect and control the burst of combustion gasses that follows the departure of a projectile to affect the movement of the firearm under recoil. Compensators can be as simple as a diagonal cut in the barrel itself. Often compensators are separate attachment parts affixed to the threaded end of the firearm barrel. Compensators that are separate attachment parts must be affixed to the barrel to properly orient or index the slots, vents and holes with respect to the barrel in order to have the desire recoil affect. Heretofore, mounting and indexing a recoil compensator involved the use of a selective number of crush washers to accommodate the desired spacing between the barrel and the compensator so that the compensator was properly indexed relative to the barrel.
The recoil compensator of this invention uses a two piece design that allows for convenient indexing of the vent channels relative to the barrel, while securely mounting the compensator to the threaded end of a barrel. The recoil compensator consists of a muzzle brake and a jam nut. The muzzle brake turns onto the threaded end of the barrel and the jam nut is operatively threaded onto the body of the muzzle brake so that it can be tightened about the muzzle brake and the barrel to securely lock the muzzle brake to the barrel once properly indexed relative to the barrel. The jam nut has an annular flange that overlies the body of the muzzle brake to provide a clean aesthetic appearance of the recoil compensator. The two piece design also allows the compensator to be conveniently fitted to the barrel and eliminates the need for fitting a muzzle brake using multiple crush washers.
The above described features and advantages, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.